Harbaugh described how the statue of Gore should depict him low to the ground, digging for yards, legs flying. It was great coaching theater.

More than smart offense and tough defense, what Harbaugh has brought to the 49ers is an enthusiasm for his players unknown to coachkind.

I have never seen a coach or manager in any sport so genuinely in love with his players, so in awe of their ability, and so eager to tell the world.

How do you think that goes over with the 49ers’ players? What do you think it does for Alex Smith when, after six years of public abuse and disdain from his head coaches, he comes to the sideline and is wrapped in a bear hug by Harbaugh?

How strong is that Harbaugh love when it obliterates and nullifies the contempt Smith received over the years from coaches, 49ers’ fans and media critics?

I’m guessing that when Harbaugh is displeased by a player, he takes care of that business decisively, in private. Never for public consumption (see: Mike Nolan, Mike Singletary, etc.).

How would you like to play for a coach who says: Screw up, I will tell you. Play hard, I will tell everyone.

Harbaugh’s praise works best when his team is winning, no doubt. But what’s the cause-and-effect?

Other coaches will try to copy Harbaugh. Problem is, you can’t fake it.

They should put up a statue of Harbaugh – a playbook in one hand and a pom-pom in the other.

Knuckleheads of the week: Lew Wolff and Billy Beane

A’s owner Lew Wolff and general manager Billy Beane have elected to build for the future, selling and trading what they can in order to be build for the 2014 or 2015 season, when they’ll have a new ballpark in San Jose.

(That’s assuming they clear small hurdles such as fierce opposition from the Giants, a community group’s lawsuit, financing …)

Meanwhile, I’ve got a fever and there’s only one prescription: More tarp!

Deep thoughts, cheap shots & bon mots …

– Maybe he was celebrating the end of the lockout: Warriors guard Charlie Bell shows up drunk in court for his DUI hearing. Memo to NBAers: “Order in the court” does not mean “What’ll you have?”

– Least surprising surprise of the year: Warriors meet with Giants to discuss a new arena near Giants’ ballpark. A venture capitalist and Hollywood mogul buy the Warriors, a team based in the golden state of Oakland. The introductory news conference for owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber is held at a fancy San Francisco restaurant. Their subsequent major press conferences, to intro Mark Jackson and Jerry West, are held at a swanky S.F. hotel. Hello.

– Will the last pro team to leave Oakland please turn out the lights.

– The 49ers nearly whiffed with their Gatorade shower of Jim Harbaugh. The Stanford players got only a partial hit on coach David Shaw. We can put a man on the moon but we can’t develop an effective Gatorade-shower delivery system?

– Curry once again is anointed the Warriors’ Favorite Son. It was nice of the front office to assure Curry he would not be traded, but they should have asked him to keep that under his hat.

– The prosecution wants a 15-month prison sentence for Barry Bonds. Fifteen months for his rambling, churlish answer to a grand-jury question. Or, as it was known for years in baseball: Barry Bonds speaking. Come on, give the guy a month of mansion arrest, and make it sting by denying him inter-mansion privileges.

– Albert Pujols signs a 10-year, $254 million contract, and wise-guy reader Ben Woods wonders, “Are there any incentive clauses in the deal?”

– Golfer Luke Donald: First athlete to claim he was mis-tweeted … by himself. Donald tweeted that Rory McIlroy was the most talented player he had ever seen. Then, fearing the wrath of Tiger Woods, Donald tweeted, “A few people aren’t understanding what I meant.”

– And a lot of people aren’t caring.

– How much cramming did the NBA do with its schedule? Don’t worry, I did the math for you. Each team will play 66 games. Based on the NBA’s normal scheduling pace, each team should play 60 games. So the owners and players shoehorned an extra six games into the short schedule. Call it a bonus for the fans, or call it a guarantee of more injuries and sloppier play.